By Dan Kidder
Managing Editor

Since it was designated as the official pistol of the U.S. Military 100 years ago, the Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol has been often imitated, derided, discarded and ultimately vindicated. Every handgun designed in the last 100 years has had to stand beside the 1911 for examination and every one has been found wanting in comparison.

Sturm Ruger & Co. was founded in 1949 and has been making high quality firearms ever since. It only seems right that this venerable gun maker should celebrate the 100th anniversary of the most venerated pistol in history by creating their own take on it.
The Ruger SR1911 has really taken this innovative pistol design and raised the bar on what a 1911 can and should be. Using their patented investment casting process, Ruger has created a durable frame that will hold up to years of use and abuse. They milled the slide out of bar stock using a CNC process. The barrel and lug are formed from the same piece of steel and kept together so that they have identical hardness, preventing one from wearing on the other.

Beautiful wood grip panels with a Ruger medallion on the left side compliment the elegant lines. Contrasting beavertail, thumb safety and mainspring housing in black offset the glare-free stainless of the slide and frame. Checkering on the mainspring housing ensures a positive gripping surface. A skeletonized hammer and trigger reduce weight and provide a modern look on this old classic design.

The combination of an internal ejector and a scalloped ejection port provides a reliable ejection every time. The inclusion of Novak sights, over travel adjustment on the trigger and an extended magazine release are just little added touches that make the Ruger SR1911 a fine piece of art as well as one heck of a reliable firearm.

In testing, we ran several hundred rounds of a variety of ammunition through the gun. Since the gun was brand new and still within its break-in period, we would not have been surprised to have a stoppage or two. Not only did the gun shoot flawlessly without a single malfunction, it ate any kind of cheap ammo we could feed it, including Russian made steel cased ammunition. Another plus is that the Ruger SR1911 and all of Ruger’s guns are made right here in America, by Americans.

In this day and age of concealed carry, the Ruger SR1911 is so pretty to look at, you wish you could wear it in plain sight. And it shoots even better than it looks, which makes the Ruger SR1911 a great gun for collectors or just regular old people who like to shoot a quality design made by a quality company.

Specs:
Caliber: .45 Auto
Slide Material: Stainless Steel
Sights: Fixed Novak® 3-Dot
Length: 8.67”
Height: 5.45”
Width: 1.34”
Grooves: 6
Barrel Length: 5.00”
Twist: 1:16” RH
Magazines Supplied: One 8-round and one 7-round stainless steel magazines.